Hail-cabinet



W. W. LONG.

Y MAIL CABINET. APPLICATION FTEED DEC-I7. 191B.

1 ,3 1 6, 586. Patented Sept. 23, 1919.

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THE C(ILMBIA PLANOGIIAPH' 150 WASNDIMON, m C.

W. W. LONG.

MAIL CABINET.

APPLICATION men 050.11. 1918.

Patentegi Sept. 23, 191

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wuentc g W. W. LONG.

MAIL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.I7. I918- '1,316,586. PatientedSept. 23, 19

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@W/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJ} PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. LONG", 01? ROCKY, OKLAHOMA.

MAIL-CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentedsept. 23, 1919.

Application filed December 17, 1918. Serial No. 267,152.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. Lone, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rocky, in the county of Washita and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Mail-Cabinet, of which the following is a specification. r

This invention relates to cabinets for use by rural mail carriers, one of its objects being to provide a flexible holder having rows of pockets or pigeon-holes suitably desig nated and arranged in the same rotation as the boxes or places of delivery on the route, so that, after the mail has been assorted and placed in the different pockets, the

. holder can be rolled up with its contents,

placed in the vehicle used by the carrier, and thus keep the articles of mail properly separated to expedite delivery.

A further object is to provide a flexible holder of novel construction and which, when rolled up, will properly retain the mail.

Another object is to provide a rack for holding the flexible device while the mail is being assorted and so that every pigeonhole can be reached readily, said rack being collapsible and shiftable at will to facilitate the removal of the holder after it has been filled. j

Withthe foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

a In the accompanying drawings the preferred formof the invention has been shown. In said drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of the rack, one section thereof being shown collapsed and the other section extended, there being a portion of a holder on each section.

Fig. 2 isa plan view, onesection being shown extended and the other section being collapsed and swung to horizontal or delivering position, a portion of a holder being shown on each section.

. ig. 3 is a transverse section through one of the sections of the rack and through the holder the e V I Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through a portlon of the holder, said section being in dlagram and taken on line 44, Fig. 5.

Flg. 5 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 4 and taken on line 5 5, 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged face view of some of the pockets of the holder and showing the arrangement of reinforcing chains therein.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of a rod used for holding the web of the device in a taut pos1t1on.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates a standard having a base 2and a top 3 which can be attached to a wall or the like or, if preferred, a strip 4 can be placed across and at right angles to the base so as to support the standard in a vertical position on the floor. Bars 5 are located at opposite sides of the standard and are adapted to rotate, these bars being journaled in the base and top respectively. Extending radially from each bar so as to move therewith is ahorizontal rod 6 and the outer end of the rod is provided with a brace 7 which is extended downwardly and inwardly and connected to the lower end of the bar 5. A stop strip 8 is secured to the standard 1 and a supporting finger 9 is connected to each end portion of the strip and adapted to swing horizontally to position against and parallel with the strip 8 or at right angles to said strip.

Mounted to swing on both of the rods 6 are racks having slides 10 each of which forms one leaf of a hinge the other leaf 11 of which is secured to one side portion of a panel 12 near the center thereof. Metal straps 13 are secured to the ends of the panels and have projecting ends 14 which lap, as shown, and are provided with slots 15. A pivot'rod 16 extends through the slots and longitudinally within the space between the panels.

Arms 17 extend at right angles from the straps 13 at the outer ends thereof, or in other words, at the ends remote from the slots 15, and hingedly connected to the free ends of these arms are frames 18 each of which has stop fingers 19 adapted to swing against the arms 17 and thus limit the swinging of the frames 18 toward the panels 12, as shown in Fig. 2.

Arranged along the longitudinal members of the frames 18 are buttons 20 and similar buttons 21 are provided on the outer edges A mail holder of novel form is used in connection with the structure hereinbefore described. This holder, which has been indicated generally at H, is formed of a strip of flexible material, such as duck or canvas, shown at 22 and this strip is shaped to provide side portions 23, there being folds 24: extending outwardly from the angles at the rear edges of the sides 23 and provided with button holes for engagement with the buttons 21 and 20 on the sides of the panels 12 and on the inner portions of the frames 18. The outer portions of the frames are connected to flaps or folds 24 at the outer edges of the sides 23, there being button holes therein for engagement with the buttons 20 on the outer portions of the frames. The various button holes have been indicated at 25. The side portions 23 of the fabric strip are arranged in pairs and a fabric web 26, which is a continuation of the inner sides of the two pairs, serves to connect said pairs.

Formed within each of the channels defined by the side portions23 and the back portion of the strip 22, are parallel rows of cells or pigeon-holes formed of fabric suitably reinforced. Each row of cells is made by shaping a strip of fabric 27 as illustrated in Figure 5, thus to form back and front casings 28. After two strips have thus been shaped and have been placed side by side transverse strips 29 of fabric are extended thereacross and folded as shown in Fig. 4-, forming back and front casings 30. The upper and lower edges of the sides of the pockets thus produced by the strips 29 are sewed or otherwise secured to the side edges of the tops and bottoms of the pockets formed by the strips 27 thus completing the shaping of the pockets or cells. Light chains, metal cords, orother reinforcing members indicated at 31 are threaded through the casings 28 and 30 so as thus to hold the pockets in shape at their open front ends and at their closed rear ends. Al though two rows of pockets or cells have been shown at both sides of the holder, it is to be understood that this number can be reduced or increased, as desired. Card holders 32 of any desired construction can be fastened above the open ends of the different pockets for displaying the names of the various addresses on the route to be served, said names being arranged in the order in which they are reached while mail is being delivered.

In using'the device one of the rods 6 is swung forward so that the panels 12 mounted thereon can be swung to a horizontal position in. front of the standard 1 as shown in Fig. 2, and these panels, and the parts connected thereto, can be thus supported by the linger ,9 which should first be swung outwardly from the strip 8. With the parts thus positioned the two panels are pulled apart so that the slides 10 will move along the rod 6 and the panels 12 lie flat upon the rod in the relative positions shown atthe right of Figs. 1 and 2, only horizontally instead of vertically. The frames 18 are swung out from the panels after which the flexible holder H is placed on the panels and the flaps thereof are connected to the various buttons 20 and 21. One group of cells or pockets will thus be disposed between each frame 18 and its panel. The rod 16 is then pulled upwardly so. as to cause the panels 12 to fold together thereby to turn the series of pockets or cells so that back against the strip 8 and after both" holders H have thus been positioned it will be apparent that a complete rack having vertical rows of cells or pigeon-holes will be provided, the holders occupying the positions shown at the left of Fig. 1. Articles of mail can be assorted and placed in the proper pigeon-holes, as ordinarily, and, after the mail has been assorted in this manner, the holders can be lowered to horizontal positions by reversing the operation heretofore described. The holder can then be unfastened from the buttons, rolled into a compact bundle with the assorted mail therein, and conveyed to the vehicle used by the carrier. It can here be suitably arranged so that the mail can be removed from the various cells in proper succession, thereby effecting a considerable saving of time and obviating the danger of mixing the mail and leaving articles at the wrong places.

If desired the web 26 when folded as shown in Fig. 3, can be held taut by an elongated clip 33, shown in Fig. 7, made up of parallel rods the ends of which are offset and brought together as at 34. After the flexible material has been folded as shown in Fig. 3, the clip is placed astride it and the panels 12 and the ends 34 inserted into the slots 15. i

What is claimed is 1. A mail cabinet including a supporting structure, a rack adapted to swing relative to said structure to assume either a vertical or a horizontal position, and a flexible holder detachably connected to the rack and having a plurality of pigeon-holes.

2. A mail cabinet including a supporting structure mounted to swing, a rack mounted on said structure and mounted to swing relaadapted to swing relative thereto to either a vertical or a horizontal position, said rack including hingedly mounted side frames, and a flexible holder detachably connected to the rack between the side frames and having a plurality of pigeon-holes.

4. A mail cabinet including a supporting structure mounted to swing, a laterally extensible rack mounted on said structure and adapted to swing to eitlier a vertical or a horizontal position, means for holding the rack in a horizontal position, a flexible holder detachably connected to the rack and having a plurality of pigeon-holes, said pigeon-holes being held parallel by the rack 15 my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature 20 in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM W. LONG.

Witnesses:

A. L. Tomvnn, J. H. ROBINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

